Seniority/ Former Royal Navy officer recalls life

Editor's note: This is one in an occasional series of chats with local seniors about their lives, youthful aspirations, sources of pride and regret, plus a bit of wisdom to share with younger folks.

The following is an interview with Gavin Anderson, 73, of Westport, a former officer in the Royal Navy and member of several town boards.

Q: Do you live in Westport?

A: Yes. 34 years since July 1977.

Q: Are you married?

A: Yes -- to Virginia Kendall Gardiner, from Fairfield. We had both have been married before. Kendall is my third wife.

Q: Children? How many?

A: I have one daughter adopted in Thailand, two step-daughters, and raised one son and another daughter as adopted children of my ex-wife.

Q: Grandchildren? How many?

A: A total of seven, five boys and two girls.

Q: Are you retired?

A: I retired from full-time employment in 1994.

Q: What did you do when you worked full-time?

A: My last job was director, executive services, in the office of the chairman, Colgate Palmolive Company, based at 300 Park Ave., New York. I retired after 28 years of service with Colgate. Previously, I had been with Peat Marwick Mitchell, now KPMG in London, having qualified as a professional chartered accountant. My first employment from school was the Royal Navy, where I won a commission, serving on active duty and in the reserves for a total of 11 years.

Q: What did you do after you retired?

A: After retirement, I served in Westport on the RTM for two years, the Board of Finance for seven years, and on the Board of Selectmen for one year. I ran for election as first selectman in 2009. I also served on the town's Maintenance Committee for 13 years, 10 as chairman; I chaired The King's Highway School Committee, dealing with air-quality issues. I co-chaired the Millpond Committee. I served as chairman of the board of The Council on Economic Priorities ("Shopping for a Better World"), and also participated in the creation of The United States South Africa Business Council in 1995. I served on a number of other boards and committees in Washington and New York.

Q: What did you want to be when you grew up?

A: I always wanted to be an officer in the Royal Navy.

Q: What was a significant defining memory in you childhood?

A: World War II. ..... the noise, the guns, the airplanes overhead, the smells, the smoke, the searchlights in the sky at night being blood red from the fires; my father being wounded in battle and at home on crutches -- his uncomplaining pain: of being afraid at the time at the age of four that when "it was my turn to be shot" -- I must be brave.

Q: What are your main hobbies and interests?

A: Sailing, and in other sports, I am retired from playing squash and field hockey internationally; writing -- I am a published poet and am trying to complete a biography; music, military history, numismatics -- I collect English silver coin.

Q: Do you have a favorite work of art?

A: Perhaps more a favorite artist, Giovanni Antonio Canal, better known as Canaletto. He was a Venetian painter famous for his landscapes, or vedute, of Venice. The finest collection of his works can be seen in the Queen's collection hung in Windsor Palace, England.

Q: What music do you listen to and what is your favorite piece of music?

A: Classical piano concertos of the great masters, Chopin, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff and Mozart. My favorite pieces of music are Raph Vaughan-Williams' "Sea Symphony" and his "Fantasia on a Christmas Carol.

Q: Do you have a favorite movie?

A: Probably "The Cruel Sea," wartime Battle of the Atlantic story of a naval frigate on convoy escort duty, the commanding officer played by Jack Hawkins. A black-and-white movie, it is based on a best-selling book by Nicholas Montserrat, and is arguably the most authentic portrayal of the horrors of that ocean-wide struggle.

Q: Do you have a favorite actor or actress?

A: Laurence Olivier -- the finest Shakespeare actor ever. Katherine Hepburn, for her variety of roles, characters and extraordinary presence on stage or before the cameras -- a worldwide star of enduring value.

Q: What TV show do you watch regularly?

A: PBS' "Masterpiece Theater Mysteries." Always high quality.

Q: Who do you think was the best President of the United States?

A: FDR. A chooser of great leaders of men, extraordinary thinkers, a superb strategist, a master negotiator, and a man of demonstrable personal courage. A president who truly understood what service to his country meant.

Q: If you could tell the President of the United States a thing or two, what would you say?

A: Lead by example, by persuasion and good, fact-qualified argument; never lead by imposing decision. Govern but don't dictate, and never allow authority of the office to become infected by doctrinaire political dogma.

Q: What is your greatest guilty pleasure?

A: Gordon's Gin, and tonic!

Q: What is your biggest pet peeve?

A: Being witness to bad manners, uncivil behavior.

Q: Do you have any regrets in life?

A: Leaving the Royal Navy at the time I did.

Q: What achievements are you mostly proud of?

A: 1) Being a member of the British team that won the "Admiral's Cup" in 1965 -- then the team ocean-racing championship of Europe and in many opinions of the world. 2) Achieving a commission in the Royal Navy. 3) Commanding and bringing a Navy ship safely through a hurricane off Land's End, England -- one of the most dangerous areas of ocean in the northern hemisphere. 4) My years of work and effort in South Africa dealing with apartheid, its social negatives, and leading United States companies' efforts to fight its inequities. At the end, meeting President Mandela privately was for me a great moment.

Q: What, if anything, are you most concerned about?

A: Growing incidence of terrorism, political rebellion, and the erosion of democracy worldwide ---- bringing us all one step closer to the dangers of anarchism and, eventually, the inability of government to govern.

Q: Best piece of advice for the younger generation.

A: Be patient, learn to listen, understand the value of civil debate with someone who disagrees with you. Never give up learning.

Q: What brings you your greatest joy?

A: Sailing in a well-found boat, out of sight of land, freed by a steady warm breeze; feeling the moment that draws the sparkle of spray across the deck and my face, the splash of colors and magic of white wave-tops, and those wonderful dolphins dancing happily under the bow.